Damage Control
by swe92
Summary: Ever since Burt heard about what Blaine did to Kurt he's been confused. What in the world would make Blaine cheat on his son? He really needs to have a serious heart to heart with one Blaine Anderson. Burt's POV but all about Klaine. Spoilers up to 4x10, kind of.
1. Chapter 1

_Damage Control_

If Burt Hummel was being honest with himself, which he usually was, he never in a million years thought that he would be in this position. He locked his truck and walked up to the Anderson's door. Ever since he had gotten a surprising phone call from his son he had been caught up in a crazy whirlwind of thoughts. The phone-call had been surprising, yes, but not entirely unexpected. His son had called him up not long ago and told Burt about him and Blaine.

Burt had been furious at first. He had been so close to just slam the phone down and immediately make the drive to McKinley and beat the crap out of the person who made his son sound as if life was not worth living any more. But Burt stayed on the phone to try to get an explanation and the more he listened to his son, the more confused he got.

Apparently Blaine had, after a very emotional, and admittedly beautiful, acoustic rendition of Teenage Dream, admitted to cheating on Kurt. Kurt was reluctant to give details, and Burt was not sure he really wanted to know anyway. The call had ended with Kurt begging Burt to not speak or talk to Blaine in any way shape or form. Burt had begrudgingly agreed but he could not promise.

The call had been a couple of weeks ago now and the more time that went the less angry but more confused he got. Burt Hummel was more perceptive than people most time gave him credit for. He knew that what Kurt and Blaine had was something special, he would never admit it to anyone, but he sometimes imagined his future grandchildren with curly black hair. He had definitely noticed the looks both boys threw each other when they thought no one was watching. He simply had a hard time believing that Blaine had it in him to cheat on Kurt. Something was off and he was determined to figure out what it was.

He felt slightly guilty as he knocked on the door to the Anderson house. He did not like to go behind Kurt's back but he convinced himself that it was in his fatherly duties to figure this mess out. The few times he had spoken to Kurt after the "kind-of-break-up" his son had not sounded like his usual exuberant self and Burt hated that. Kurt was in New York and should be happier than ever before. Confronting his "boyfriend" was definitely not overstepping. It was a matter of Kurt's future happiness.

Besides, he was not only doing this for Kurt's sake. Finn, who had also experienced a break-up with Rachel according to Carole, had let it slip how down and sad Blaine was in school nowadays. It had come out during dinner one night when they were talking about the school production of Grease that Finn was directing. According to Finn, Artie had more or less given the lead role to Blaine on the spot during his audition but he had refused to take it and stormed out in tears.

Burt and Carole had gone to see the musical on opening night. Burt did not know much about musicals or acting or singing but he liked to think that he knew Blaine.

While Blaine had passed his solo in flying colors, at least according to Carol and all the other females in the audience who couldn't tear their eyes of him, Burt could tell that something was off. He did not have that extra spark in his eyes that Burt had come to associate with Blaine.

Burt was not a fool. He knew that Kurt did not have an easy life, it had admittedly gotten better since he joined Glee, but it was not until he met Blaine that Burt could finally relax. He knew that he had Blaine to thank for a lot. He was scared to think about where his son would be today if it was not for Blaine. So here he was, trying to make things better for two of the most important men in his life.

"Mr Hummel?" The door opened and there stood Blaine with a shocked expression on his face.

"Blaine," he acknowledged the teen and was secretly slightly taken aback by his appearance.

Burt had only ever seen Blaine impeccably well dressed with his hair gelled back, even after his eye surgery he had been dressed in his best pajamas with styled hair. But now, Burt barely recognized him. He wore a plain grey T-shirt and sweatpants. And his hair. Burt caught himself staring at the younger boy's crazy head of wild curls. It was not until Blaine tried to nervously flatten them that Burt snapped out of it.

"You mind if I come in? I'd like to have a chat with you."

Blaine, whose shocked expression had morphed into something more resembling fear, stepped aside and motioned for Burt to come in. He waited for Burt to take of his shoes and helped him put away his jacket before he led the way into the kitchen. Burt could see that Blaine had been in the middle of a meal since a lone plate stood on the kitchen table with a half-eaten toast resting on it.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Blaine nervously wrung his hands. "Water? Lemonade? I know your not supposed to drink beer but-"

"Nah, I'm fine."

Blaine turned away from the fridge. "I've been meaning to thank you for the flowers, tell Car-, I mean Mrs Hummel, that I really appreciate them."

Burt frowned at Blaine's correction, he had lost count of how many times both he and Carol had asked him to call them by their first names. He decided to ignore it for now though and instead he spotted a very familiar bouquet of flowers on the table.

"You were really good, Carole won't stop talking about how handsome and mesmerizing you were, she kept telling everyone who would listen that you're practically her third son," he said with a genuine smile.

Blaine froze and was at a loss for worlds. "I- did she? I mean- Really?"

In that moment Burt had an epiphany. The expression on Blaine's face was that of a hopeful child, Burt was amazed of how young and vulnerable he suddenly looked. Burt had always seen Blaine as this smart, collected and dapper gentleman. He knew that Blaine was a year younger than Kurt but sometimes Blaine appeared to be years older. Mind you, Burt had seen Blaine act as a child as well but had filed that away as being a teenager in love. Now though, Burt felt privileged. He had a feeling that the dapper gentleman persona that Blaine displayed was a facade and that Blaine was very careful of not letting other people see him as anything less.

All thoughts of coming here and yelling and admonishing Blaine disappeared out the window with the look on his face. Now Burt knew that his suspicions might not have been so unfounded after all. Burt decided play the nice cop.

"Yeah, we're really proud of you, Blaine." He said and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

Blaine frowned and avoided Burt's eyes. "Thanks. Why, though? I mean, you really shouldn't be. I assume that," Blaine paused and swallowed, "Kurt told you what happened between us. You should hate me right now. I deserve it. When I opened the door and saw that it was you, I was terrified. I thought that you had finally come to kill me with your shotgun," he admitted with a nervous chuckle, attempting to turn it into a joke.

Burt decided to humor him and chuckled along. "You're safe for now, son. You should sit down, though, since the main reason I came here was to talk to you about precisely that."

Blaine was quick to comply and sat down opposite Burt.

"Care to tell me what happened?" Burt felt no need to sugar coat it, it was probably better to do it 'the band aid way'.

"I never meant to hurt him!" Blaine blurted out, but as soon as he realized his outburst he looked down on the table and took a deep breath. "I screwed up, I know I did. And I hate myself for it."

Blaine took a pause. Burt didn't pressure him, he just sat there silently encouraging him to speak.

"I'm happy he went to New York. I really am." Blaine confessed in a quiet voice. "That is were he belongs, it killed me to see him stuck in Lima. The first couple of weeks were fine. We talked on the phone every night, skyped when we could. But when Kurt got into Vogue things- things changed."

Burt hadn't really expected Blaine to start from the beginning but he could tell that Blaine needed to have this conversation so he kept quiet and listened patiently.

"The calls became few and far between and when we finally found the time to talk it was all about his work. As much as I enjoyed hearing him happy I just couldn't help but feel insignificant. He had this brand new, exciting life in New York with a job that he loved, what was I compared to that?" He let out a dry, humorless laugh. "It's ridiculous, but it felt like he didn't care about me anymore. I'm not even entirely sure that he really knows I won the election for Senior Class President." Blaine said almost as an afterthought.

Burt looked at the kid in front of him and could practically feel the depression he radiated. He knew that Kurt had changed since he started working for Vogue. He too had noticed the decreasing number of calls from his son so he knew where Blaine was coming from.

"Eli was this guy who friended me on Facebook. I- it just felt- I just needed someone to-" Blaine trailed of and ran a hand trough his dark curls. "I went to his house and one thing led to another."

Burt immediately heard the warning bells go off inside his head.

"He didn't force himself on you, right?"

Blaine's eyes snapped up to meet Burt and he frantically shook his head.

"No! No, it was," he swallowed and looked away, too ashamed to look him in the eyes, "consensual."

"Good," Burt muttered awkwardly. "That's a dangerous thing you did, Blaine. You shouldn't meet up with someone you barely know. Who knows what kind of creep he could have been."

"I know. I'm sorry, sir. It _definitely_ will not happen again." Blaine answered with certainty.

Burt was torn and almost regretted coming here in the first place. He was so mad, actually hearing Blaine openly admitting to cheating on his son made his heart burn and he felt like magically summon a shotgun. He knew that the teenage years were a mess of relationships and feelings. He had ,after all, been a teenager himself at one point. But it was different when it came to his son, Burt just wanted to protect him from every negative experience and emotion that he possibly could. He did not have a very good track record of that, his son's life had been paved with unfortunate events like his mother's death and the bullying at school. Maybe it was naive to think that he could shield his son from pain, but he always tried his best.

When Kurt and Blaine had started dating, Burt had been ecstatic. The primary reason was because, finally, his son was truly happy. But then there was also the fact that, finally, Burt was not alone in caring for Kurt's well being. Sure, he knew that Carole and Finn loved his son but this was different. There was finally someone else who made keeping Kurt happy a priority.

"Why did you do it? I thought you loved my son?" Burt asked.

"I did! I do! So, so much. I don't really know exactly why I did it. I thought that maybe we really were not meant to be. But I know now, more than before, that he really is my soul mate. I just felt so alone. I know it's not an excuse but-"

"It's an explanation," Burt finished for him. "I get it, son." He was starting to see the real problem here. Burt had not really expected Blaine to open up to him and be so honest which made him realize that maybe Blaine had not really had anyone to open up to before.

"Have you told Kurt what you just told me?" Burt asked.

Blaine shook his head. "I've tried but he won't talk to me." Blaine's voice was close to breaking on every word.

The shrill tone of a phone ringing echoed in the otherwise empty house. Blaine's cleared his throat and wiped away the stray tear that had made it's way down cheek. He stood up and answered the phone on the other side of the kitchen.

"Hello? No, this is his son. I'm afraid you'll have to try his cell," Blaine glanced at Burt before turning his back towards the older man while he listened to the person on the other end. Burt didn't like to call it eavesdropping but he couldn't help to listen, even if he had to strain his ears to do so. "I don't know when they will be home next. No. I've been told not to expect them until after Christmas. Yes. Yes, I will. Good bye, sir."

Blaine hung up the phone and returned to the table acting like nothing was wrong. He picked up the plate with the half-eaten toast and headed for the sink

"Your parents won't be home until after Christmas?" Burt asked, flabbergasted, but not really surprised. Kurt had not been very kind when talking about Blaine's parents in the past.

"Probably not," was Blaine's curt reply.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Burt could hear himself rasing his voice. He just couldn't help it. What kind of parents didn't spend Christmas with their kid?

Blaine turned around after putting the plate in the dishwasher. "I don't know. It's always been like this. That's the main reason I boarded at Dalton and when I transfered to McKinley I had Kurt to spend the days with. I guess I'll get used to it. I've got a lot of things to get used to."

Burt rose from his chair. "Come here," he said.

Blaine looked at Burt, completely bewildered. "What?"

"You heard me!" When Blaine still made no move to come closer, Burt himself closed the remaining distance between them and engulfed him in a big hug. Blaine was stiff as a board at first but soon melted into the embrace.

As soon as he heard the first sniffle Burt made up his mind. He immediately started to make up a plan in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all the followers and favorites this story has gotten. And a special thank you to the reviewers! Who knew how great it would feel to post a story? You make my heart go weee...! :D**

**I should say that after the Thanksgiving episode this story does not follow canon, I already had most of this chapter written before I watched the episode. And I must say that I prefer canon over this ;) How wonderful wasn't that phone call scene? I know I wasn't the only one crying!**

Burt heard him just as he entered the building.

"Rachel! Put that pan down! You know you're not allowed within 10 feet of the stove!" Kurt's shrill voice rang through the house.

Burt chuckled to himself while he climbed the stairs. He reached their floor and knocked on the red thing they called door. After a few seconds the door slid open revealing a sour-looking Rachel Berry. Her expression immediately brightened though as soon as she saw who their guest was.

"Mr Hummel! It's so nice to see you!"

Burt found himself with an armful of an excited Rachel.

"Dad?" Kurt's voice sounded. "Hang on a minute. I just need to save our lunch."

Burt stepped inside the apartment and ignored a pouting Rachel. He took a look around the place. He had never cared much for interior design, as long as he had a comfy chair he was happy. But he knew to appreciate a nice place when he saw it, and he really liked what they had done to the loft. This was the first time he saw the place in person but Kurt had sent him pictures of how the room looked before so he knew all the hard work the teens had put down.

"Dad!"

Burt looked to his right and there stood a beaming Kurt. Burt couldn't help but laugh joyfully as he embraced his son tightly. It didn't matter how long it would be between visits, as long could hug Kurt like this every time he was happy. They pulled away from each other and Burt noticed that he wasn't the only one who was teary-eyed.

"I really missed you, son. Thanksgiving without you was not the same. Only good thing was that I only had to sneak food past Carole instead of the both of you."

"Dad, your heart," Kurt said with disappointment lacing his tone. One part of Burt was annoyed with his son's and wife's antics, but the bigger part was incredible grateful that they cared so much about him.

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Burt joked and threw his arms out.

Kurt only shook his head. "And I'd like to keep you that way," he said and grabbed Burt's arm, determined to give him a tour. Before he turned away, though, they shared a look that spoke of more than loving banter between them. During Christmas time they both got more emotional than usual, without having to speak they decided that it was a subject to be discussed later.

Instead, Burt allowed himself to be led around the apartment by Kurt and Rachel. It was obvious that they had choreographed and rehearsed the ultimate tour by the way they moved and completed each other's sentences. It was quite entertaining to watch.

After the experience that was the grand tour they sat down for the dinner that Kurt had prepared.

"I really like what you've done with the place," Burt confessed and got two broad smiles in return.

"Thank you, Burt," Rachel preened. "Although, Kurt should get most of the credit. His decorating skills are superb," she admitted.

"I cringe to think how this place would have looked if we'd have let you decide. The horror," Kurt shuddered before Rachel slapped him lightly.

Burt knew that the friendship between the two had been complicated in the past but he was really glad that his son had Rachel as a friend. He wasn't sure that he would have let Kurt go to New York on his own without knowing that there would be someone else there with him.

After a healthy, but surprisingly tasty, meal, Rachel excused herself to get ready for a 'hot' date that Burt was sworn to secrecy about. He could under no circumstances let Finn know about it. Burt promised wholeheartedly, trying to meddle between one couple was enough for the time being, he didn't mention that last part though.

After wishing Rachel good luck Burt sat down on the couch and not long after Kurt followed with two cups of steaming hot chocolate. Burt only hoped that it was the real deal and not some crappy, healthy stuff.

"Don't tell anyone I said this; but I really can't wait to get back to Lima to celebrate Christmas. New York is really lovely but I really want to eat dinner with my family in front of a crooked Christmas-tree that we've decorated ourselves. And they don't have that in New York," Kurt admitted and took a sip out of his mug.

"I hear you, kiddo," Burt agreed.

Today was the 18th of December. Burt had taken some much needed time of from the shop in favour of visiting his son in New York and spend some quality-time together. On the 22nd they would fly back together to Ohio to celebrate Christmas. That was what Kurt thought at least. There were a few things that he was unaware of at the moment but as long as Burt played his cards right he didn't think Kurt would mind the alternative plan.

He could feel Kurt inching closer to him and decided to help him out by putting an arm over his shoulders to pull him tight into his side.

"I'm sure that I am too old for this," Kurt said as he leaned his head on his father's shoulder. They just sat there for a while chatting mindlessly about this and that while sipping on their chocolates.

"This will be the tenth Christmas without her," Kurt suddenly said and put his mug down.

Burt did the same. He wasn't very surprised that Kurt brought it up. "You're right. Time flies, doesn't it?"

Burt had always had a hard time speaking of his first wife's death. He didn't mind talking about her, in fact, he tried to speak of her as much as possible. But he preferred to remember her as she was in life, he liked to think that she was just away on a long vacation. The concept of death still did not sit well with him.

Burt saw an opening and went for it.

"Speaking of your mother. Have I told you about how we met?"

"Yes, several times actually," Kurt responded matter-of-fact.

Burt backtracked slightly and frowned. He quickly tried to find another anecdote to use as an opening. Screw it.

"Well, I'm telling you again," he said finally.

Kurt looked surprised at first but eventually shrugged and decided to play along. Burt cleared his throat.

"I remember it as if it was yesterday, the first time I saw Elizabeth. It was in the beginning of our junior year and the school was just over for the day. I had been held back by a teacher so when I got out to the parking lot it was practically empty besides this really beautiful girl. She was obviously upset so I went up to her."

Burt thought back to that day as he continued to tell the story. The girl had introduced herself as Elizabeth Michaels, she had recently transferred from another school and that was why he hadn't seen her before. She had been upset because her bike had been stolen. When Burt heard that he had done some of the best acting of his life.

The fact was that he and a group of friends had spent the lunch break that day re-arranging the bikes. They had even gone through the trouble of moving some of them to the parking lot on the other side of the school. Burt, of course, did not say that. Instead he offered to go and check the other parking lot, for maybe someone had moved it there as a prank? It had been known to happen before, he explained as innocently as he could.

Burt had run to the other side of the school and, sure, there was the bike Elizabeth had described. Burt was a man of action and had been so when he was a teenager as well. It had been an easy decision to puncture one of the tyres of Elizabeth's bike before he led it back to the waiting girl.

"Being the gentleman I am, I offered her and the bike a ride home. And of course I insisted on fixing the flat tyre. I may have been a stupid teenager, but I still had morals."

"Yeah, you're a real gentleman," Kurt huffed but Burt could see him trying to supress a smile. Yeah, maybe it hadn't been the right thing to do but it had worked. He and Elizabeth had bonded on the ride home and the rest was history.

"We became high school sweethearts."

As Burt said that he could feel Kurt stiffen slightly. He was obviously thinking about his own high school sweetheart. That was good, Burt did not even have to mention Blaine's name to get Kurt to think about him. That was beneficial to what he was about to say next.

"Look Kurt, I never meant to tell you this but given the circumstances I think you should know. You're a grown-up now so I expect you to be able to handle it without too much fuss," he fixed Kurt with a serious look.

Kurt looked worried at first but nodded. Burt really wished that he didn't have to tell his son this but if it could help his son to realise a few things he had to at least try.

"Not long before our graduation I somehow found out that your mother recently had been pregnant but had done an abortion without telling me," Burt confessed. He was at peace with it now but it still brought up some feelings that he preferred to stay buried. He studied his son's reaction.

Kurt sat up properly and stared at his father.

"What? Mum was pregnant before me? Was it yours? I could have had a brother or sister?" The questions kept coming but Burt had to stop him.

"Kurt!" Burt grabbed Kurt's arm willing him to slow down and listen. "Yes, she was pregnant with my child. No, you probably wouldn't have had an older sibling. Everything happens for a reason, buddy. If she had gone through with the pregnancy maybe we wouldn't have had you!" Burt explained gently but with a tone of voice that was not to be questioned. "Now let me me continue with my story."

Kurt let his father's words settle. Burt just hoped that he could let it go for the time being, they could have a conversation about that at another time. Preferably after Christmas. At last Kurt let out a breath and spoke.

"Story? Why do I feel like there's supposed to be a hidden meaning in there somewhere?" Kurt asked suspiciously.

"I'm getting to it. Listen, when I found out that she had been pregnant and done an abortion without telling me I was furious. I was so mad and hurt that she hadn't been willing to share that with me so we could have talked about it. I loved her so much and would have supported her either way. When I confronted her she told me that she did not want to have a child with me, at least not at that time in our life. I was not great academically, it was soon graduation and I had no real plan for the future. She did not want to raise a child with a father like that. Hearing her say that hurt even more. We did not speak with each other for the longest time but after a while I came to realise that she had been partly right. I started to look at it her way. Sure, she had hurt me more than any other person had ever done but I realised that she had not had it that easy either. I manned up, graduated, started to work as an apprentice at a garage. Your mother and I worked things out in the end."

Kurt had not moved a muscle during Burt's speech. His blue eyes were trained on his father's.

"The point is that sometimes people hurt each other. Your mum was really sorry that she hadn't told me and I was sorry for giving her reasons to doubt me. But we loved each other so we were able to overcome that and become a stronger couple because of it."

Tears had started to form in Kurt's eyes. He tried to wipe them away but Burt wouldn't let him. He took Kurt's hands in his own and continued.

"I'm not saying you should forgive Blaine. I know your situation is not the same as mine. But I do want you to talk to him, give him a chance to explain himself. You owe that to him, and to yourself. I don't want you to just throw away what you had with him without a fight. I think you've had enough time to think by now."

"You've talked to Blaine." It was an obvious statement. Kurt's voice was weak but his stance was still strong.

"Yes, I went to his house a couple of weeks after it happened and we talked."

If Kurt felt betrayed by his father's actions he didn't show it. But he appeared to have a hard time making up his mind of what to say next.

"I've actually wanted to talk to him for a while now," Kurt admitted. "But I can't just call him up and have the conversation over phone, even though it might be easier to not have him within touching distance it's cowardly."

"He's really lonely, you know," Burt said. He was sure that Kurt was not oblivious to that.

"I actually suspected that," Kurt whispered. "I know his parents are away more than at home. He's been wary with the Warblers since the slushy incident. But I figured maybe the New Direction kids were there for him."

"You weren't the only one who graduated, Kurt. Rachel moved away, Mike moved away, Puck moved away. And Even though Finn's at McKinley he's your brother."

Kurt frowned. "What about Artie, Tina and Sam?"

"Tina's dealt with her own break-up. Sam's actually been the only one who's made an effort," Burt explained.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "He told you all this?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, most of it. Finn told me the rest. I think Blaine was glad to finally have someone he could talk when he realised that I wouldn't judge or yell at him."

Kurt sunk back into the couch again and sighed. Burt did the same and let his son think. He figured that he had gotten his point across pretty well, now he could only wait for Kurt to take the next step. After a good five minutes in complete silence Kurt spoke up again.

"I'm glad you decided to speak to him, dad. I know he sees you as kind of a second father. I'm glad that you were there for him when I couldn't be."

Now Burt had a hard time keeping the tears at bay. He was so proud of his son. He had always been proud of him but watching him grow into a man and being able to have mature conversations with him was something he treasured dearly.

"I consider him one of my boys as well. He's a pretty lovable person."

Kurt let out a watery laugh. "Tell me about it."

They fell into a comfortable silence again before Burt rose from the sofa.

"How about taking a walk down in Bryant Park?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello!**

**This is the last chapter of Damage Control, it is just a short conclusion. I hope you have enjoyed this little story and let us all hope that the Christmas episode will satisfy all of our hearts that beat only for Klaine! Thank you!**

Burt paid for his coffee and took a careful sip before stepping out into the cold weather again. He could feel the warm liquid as it made it's way down his throat. He started walking back to the ice-rink where he had left his son a good twenty minutes ago.

Burt had managed to convince Kurt to go for an evening walk and while Kurt was busy getting dressed for the occasion Burt had, very sneakily, sent a text alerting a certain someone of their plans. That must have been the one time Burt Hummel actually appreciated his son's obsession with wearing the right clothes. He was no 007, so he took all the distraction that Kurt offered as a blessing.

They had arrived at Bryant Park, Kurt had been slightly confused to why had Burt insisted going there of all places to go in New York but had decided to not question it too much. Burt was ashamed to admit that he had played the 'heart-card', something he rarely liked to do, but when he did he was sure to get what he wanted.

They had walked around for a bit, commenting on all the people and the area before they stopped close to the ice-rink. Burt had subtly scanned the skaters, at least he thought he had been subtly. Kurt had caught on and tried to see what his father was looking for. Kurt had actually spotted him first. The grip he had around Burt's arm had tightened and his eyes had gone round as saucers, not quite believing his eyes.

Blaine had caught sight of them as well and skated up to where they stood next to the rink. Burt had quickly excused himself to get some coffee. Kurt had given him an incredulous look, too surprised to actually say or do anything. Burt was sure that he would get an earful from him when they got home, not even depending on how the evening played out. Kurt did not like to be kept in the dark or be outsmarted.

Burt leaned on the fence and tried to spot his boys. He suppressed a laugh when he did see them. Blaine had convinced Kurt to put on a pair of skates, which was a feat in itself. That, if anything, showed Burt that Kurt still had a soft spot for Blaine. Kurt had, contrary to popular belief, never liked skating much. Burt had brought Kurt to a local ice-skating rink back home when he was younger in hopes of turning him into a hockey player but it had had the opposite effect.

Kurt who had never skated before was naturally not very well-balanced or steady which gave the other boys that were there the chance to trip him every opportunity they got when Burt wasn't looking. Needless to say, Kurt had never skated since. But now Blaine had given him a reason to try again.

Burt watched the boys and did a double take. It appeared as if they were singing to each other. He shouldn't be surprised really. They were Kurt and Blaine, singing was second nature to them. Burt was only glad that they were in New York where no one even batted an eye lash when two gay men burst out in song. In fact, most of the other skaters seemed to dance along to their private performance.

Burt was actually impressed with Kurt's skating. Sure, he didn't look as comfortable as Blaine, who honestly seemed to have been born with skates on his feet, but he was far better than Burt had expected him to be. It shouldn't really surprise Burt anymore, what Kurt could do. Over and over again his son had exceeded his expectations and achieved things he would never think a son of his capable of. He could never begin to express how proud he was to have a son like Kurt. It wasn't always easy, but he would never trade him for anything.

"You look happy," Burt observed as Kurt approached him some time later. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes looked more alive than they had done when he first arrived at his son's doorstep.

"We've come to an understanding," Kurt revealed. By the faint smile on his face, Burt guessed that it had gone well.

"And?" Burt prompted.

"We've decided to stay friends," Burt's heart actually dropped a little at that. He realized that he was way too invested in his boys' relationship.

"At least until Blaine graduates," Kurt added.

"And you're both okay with that?" Burt asked.

Kurt smiled warmly. "More than okay, actually. He's my best friend, so I am glad that he will be in my life to some capacity. But we don't have to feel obligated to each other. We can live our lives and see where it leads us," Kurt glanced behind Burt towards the rink's lockers where Blaine had stayed back to collect some of his stuff.

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be," Kurt finished.

Burt took Kurt's statement for what it was. It was hopeful but also slightly hesitant. It was a very mature decision for the two boys to make. There was no doubt that they both loved each other, but maybe this was for the better. At least for the time being. As far as Burt knew they were each others first boyfriends, it would be good for them to see what other guys had to offer as well. But by the smile on Kurt's face when he saw Blaine approaching them, he knew that any new relationship he entered would be nothing more than an experiment on his son's part.

Burt slung his arm across his son's shoulders and squeezed affectionately. He was glad that he had gone to Blaine that day and gotten a confession out of him. He was glad that he had meddled. As soon as Blaine graduated they would be back together and that their relationship would be even stronger than before, because no matter the heartache it is good to see what you are missing. You never know how good it is until you no longer have it, right?

Kurt and Blaine might not realize it yet, but Burt was absolutely positive that Klaine was endgame.


End file.
